The terror of racism

The unfolding racial violence in Sydney has links to the fight
against terrorism and complicates that challenge.

WHILE debate has been going on for months about how to fight
terrorism, this extraordinary and frightening racial rioting has
crept up on the Australian community. Worried about the Muslim
community harbouring terrorists, we're suddenly reminded that both
the Lebanese and wider Australian communities contain lawless and
aggressive thugs who can terrorise ordinary citizens.

This must be seen as the latest blow in what has been a bad year
for multiculturalism, a term John Howard recently admitted he
didn't particularly like. Howard, anxious to avoid highlighting the
glaringly obvious central role of race in the riots, has sounded
off-key in trying to explain the most ugly scenes in Australia for
years.

"I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this
country," he said on Monday.

Most Australians are not racist. But anyone denying the strands
of racism that can be  and in this case have been 
tapped into is rejecting history and current reality.

Malcolm Thomas, president of the Islamic Council of Victoria,
believes Howard is trying to perpetuate a "myth". An element of
racism is always there, Thomas says: it bubbles up periodically
 "the maturity of the society is to be able to handle
it".

One of the most shocking and startling images was of the Anglos
wrapped in the Australian flag  a confrontingly nationalistic
response to ethnic violence.

Yet Howard, always preoccupied with the Australian symbols, was
not galvanised by this sinister side. Rather the opposite. "Look, I
would never condemn people for being proud of the Australian flag,"
he said. It was a totally inappropriate comment on what had been a
traducing of the flag, although he did go on to condemn "loutish
behaviour, criminal behaviour".

Howard has several reasons for not wanting to get drawn on the
race aspect. The race issue has haunted his political life. The
Government's border control policy exploited it. On some occasions,
on the other hand, he's been burned by it. In the late 1980s, his
comment that Asian immigration should be slowed a little got him
into huge trouble. His abhorrence of political correctness and a
desire not to alienate a section of voters made him slow to attack
Pauline Hanson.

The riots also come at an embarrassing time internationally for
Howard who, as he left yesterday to attend the East Asian summit,
was anxious to play down the implications for Australia's
reputation. "Every country has incidents that don't play well
overseas," he said. It sounded almost as if he hadn't come to grips
with the seriousness of what's happening.

Kim Beazley also kept away from the race side when he insisted
on Monday, "This is simply criminal behaviour, and that's all there
is to it."

What seemed a blinkered response drew a sharp comment from Labor
backbencher Harry Quick, who observed that despite Australia
espousing multiculturalism, "deep down we have this fear of people
who are different from us". Yesterday Beazley's spokesman said
Beazley had no doubt that "hard-core racism was part of the
equation" including neo-Nazi elements.

The Cronulla violence is not only about race. The clash between
beach boys and those from Sydney's west stretches back a long time.
But the introduction of race to an old conflict is especially
dangerous when fears about terrorism are putting new strains on
relations between ethnic-religious communities and the wider
community.

The riots should be a wake-up call to politicians, ethnic
leaders, the community, and perhaps to the security organisations.
ASIO is watching and listening to terrorist suspects, but what
information is it getting about the far-right groups who seemed
able to mobilise so many people so quickly?

The immediate reaction has been predictable: the NSW Government
has already foreshadowed tougher police powers.

In the longer term, attempted solutions must involve parents,
young people, community groups and their leaders and the question
of how to promote desirable values and ensure acceptable
behaviour.

There are challenges in particular for the leaders of the
Lebanese community but questions over how much they can do. Labor
federal MP Daryl Melham, of Lebanese extraction, believes the
leaders don't speak for youth and it's necessary to drill down to
encourage the young people themselves to look to positive role
models and throw up good leaders from among their own ranks.

Despite being reluctant to concede overtly what a big part race
has played in the riots, Howard has brought race into it when
talking about the way forward.

We must, he said, reaffirm the non-discriminatory character of
Australia's immigration policy. We also needed to reaffirm our
respect for freedom of religion in Australia but also "place
greater emphasis on integration of people into the broader
community and the avoidance of tribalism within our midst".

Yet much of what has been done this year in the name of the
fight against terrorism has made minority communities feel more
besieged and isolated, and has not contributed to a better feeling
of belonging.

Terrorism doesn't just blow up people and buildings; it destroys
tolerance. The riots are not acts of terrorists but to the extent
they blow away trust within the community, they have aided its
cause.

Michelle Grattan is political editor.

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